Daihatsu’s YRV Turbo is a like a Tonka Toy on ecstasy. It looks like it should be parked in the kids’ playroom, yet delivers performance that should please anybody who enjoys brisk driving, especially along winding roads.
The car’s power-to-weight ratio is formidable, thanks to its minimal 950 kg mass and a very lively turbocharged engine that uses variable valve timing and four valves per cylinder to goad 95 kW and 170 Nm from just 1,3 litres. Mom doesn’t want you to have a motorcycle? Here’s a solution to keep both of you happy, because the Daihatsu can be driven like you’d ride a bike.
The YRV doesn’t look like it should handle well, with its narrow track and high centre of gravity, but it sticks to the road like you-know-what. The ride is hard and noise levels are high, but that shouldn’t be not a problem in a little sports car that can pick up its skirts and hustle itself up to 100 km/hr in under ten seconds on its way to a top speed of 180 km/hr. It’s also pretty well specced, with driver and passenger airbags, electric windows, ABS brakes, power steering, central locking and an immobiliser as standard.
The YRV’s auto transmission is excellent but disappointing in that it offers just four ratios. The shift levers on the steering-wheel actually work better than those on cars costing ten times the price, allowing you to drive the YRV almost like a manual, but a fifth or even sixth cog would have added to the little car’s allure. There’s no manual transmission option either, so buyers who can’t live with the four speed auto will have to look elsewhere.
One area in which the YRV disappoints is in that the doors feel alarmingly tinny, which creates a perception of poor build quality. If I was importing the little cars for sale I’d pack a kilo or two of lead inside each door’s panelling to give it a solid “clunk” on closing.
The Daihatsu YRV is a delightful little car that’s cheeky to look at and fun to drive. Its ticket price of R139 995 is a little off-putting, but, on the other hand, nothing on four wheels in this price range can match it in terms of performance. Would we buy one? If it came with a five speed or six speed transmission, auto or manual, definitely. As it is? That would depend upon how badly we wanted the quickest Tonka Toy around.